Frame connecting piece

ABSTRACT

A connector for door frames and the like defined by perpendicular stiles and rails and disposed at corners between them. A central portion of the connector flush with the exterior of the adjacent stiles and rails. Connector extensions are disposed interiorly of the stiles and rails and frictionally connect the stiles and rails to each other to form a rigid door frame. Connecting members are also disclosed which can be placed between aligned sections of a stile or a rail for mounting handles, door locks and the like to the frame.

Q 4 United States Patent i 1 i 1 9 3 Burum 1 51 May 1, 1973 FRAMECONNECTING PIECE FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Inventor: Harold J- m,4 rs ay. 714,310 8/1954 Great Britain. ..49 50| Box 156,Sacramento,Calif. 95691 Primary Examiner--Kenneth Downey 2 F 97 [2 1 Nov25 1 0 Attorney-Townsend and Townsend [21] App]. No.: 92,757

[57] 7 ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. ..49/420, 49/425, 160/381 A connector fordoor frames and the like defined by [51] Int. Cl. ..E05d 13/02perpendicular stiles and rails and disposed at corners [58] Field ofSearch ..49/38l,420,425, between them. A central portion of theconnector 287/] 89-36 160/381 flush with the exterior of the adjacentstiles and rails. Connector extensions are disposed interiorly of the[56] Ref ren es Cit stiles and rails and frictionally connect the stilesand rails to each other to form a rigid door frame. Con- UNITED STATESPATENTS necting members-are also disclosed which can be 3,299,575 1/1967Du Shane ..49/420 pl c etween ligned sections of a stile or a rail for3,606,419 9/1971 Virkler et a1..... mounting handles, door locks and thelike to the 3,060,523 lO/l962 Benham frame, 3,056,475 lO/l962 Benham v3,533,190 10/1970 Hilfinger et a1 ..49/5(11 1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures5F 1 2s l8 2a so a as Patented Maw, 1973 v 3,729,868

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. MW HAROLD J. BURUM FIG 4 5 ,7WJM M ATTORNEYSFRAME CONNECTING PIECE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates generally to doors such as panel doors having an outer,peripheral frame and an inner panel or center piece mounted to the frameand usually constructed of a thin, opaque or translucent plate, screenor the like. Although this specification generally refers to theconstruction of sliding screen doors, it will be appreciated that glass,wooden, metallic, or plastic panels and the like can be mounted to theframe and that the frame can comprise part of a swinging door, a slidingor a swinging window and the like. Thus, the term door as used hereinincludes all such structures and the term frame as used herein refers toany peripheral, relatively flat frame structure for the support of asheet-like center piece.

A particularly common use of such doors is found in the construction ofscreen doors placed exteriorly of house exit doors, balcony doors andthe like. Screen doors have heretofore been constructed of parallel,spaced apart pairs of extruded opposing stiles and rails which weremitered at their ends and suitably joined by interiorly disposed memberswhich engaged the interior spaces of adjacent extrusions. Frequently,rivets or bolts were employed to securely and rigidly construct the doorframe. Thereafter, the screen was secured to the extrusions.

The provision of miters on each end of each stile and rail causes asignificant waste of materials. Furthermore, the relatively cumbersomemitering operation increases the manufacturing costs for the door framesappreciably so that such frames are relatively expensive. Additionally,door attachments for prior art screen door frames, such as rollerassemblies for guiding the door, handles, door locks and the like wereusually mounted interiorly of the frame extrusions to enhance theappearance of the door. The operative parts of the attachment protrudedthrough cutouts pierced or otherwise machined in a narrow side of theframe extrusions. The piercing and/or machining operation is relativelyexpensive. Moreover, the installation of the attachments must beperformed on the interior of the extrusion through the cutout which isrelatively difficult. Thus, it can be seen that the construction ofprior art screen door frames was not satisfactory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a frame forscreen doors and the like which avoidsshortcomings found on prior artdoor frames. Briefly, an assembly constructed in accordance with theinvention comprises an outer frame to which plate means disposedinteriorly of the frame is mounted, and means securing the plate meansto the frame. The frame is constructed of perpendicularly disposedstiles and rails which terminate in ends disposed substantiallyperpendicular to the length of the stiles and the rails. Fastening meansabut the stile and rail ends, connect adjacent stiles and rails anddefine a portion of the exterior of the door frame.

In a further embodiment of the invention, means for mounting doorhandles, locks and the like at an intermediate position ofa stile and/ora rail is provided. The mounting means comprises a central portion forreceiving the handle, lock or the like and aligned extensions railprotrusion sections and frictionally engage the sections to the centralportion. The central portion is further formed so that it defines aportion of the length of the corresponding stile or rail and can beflush with the stile, protrude therefrom or be recessed for applicationsin which passing doors have minimal clearance. The handle, lock and thelike mounting means can be employed in conjunction with or separate ofthe stile and rail corner fastening means.

The connecting members provided by the present invention enable theperpendicular cutting of door frame members or protrusions without theneed of mitering them and with a consequent waste reduction. Moreover,they enable the quick assembly of the protrusions into a door frame. Themembers are assembled with rollers, handles, locks and the like prior tothe installation of the members in the door frame. This enables the useof low cost mass manufacturing methods for the production of the membersand their quick and effortless installation. A door of substantiallylesser cost yet high quality and pleasing appearance is thus provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary frontelevational view of a sliding screen door construction in accordancewith the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevation of a two piece corner connectorconstructed in accordance with the invention and shows one-half of theconnector removed to show interior portions thereof and furtherillustrates the adjoining stiles and rails in phantom lines;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view and is taken on line 3-3ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front elevational view of a straight lineconnecting member for securing aligned sections of a door .framedefining protrusion to each other;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the connecting member illustratedin FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but shows a straight line connectingmember recessed from the adjacent frame sections.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREF ERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIG. 1, ascreen door 8 comprises an outer, peripheral frame 10, defined byupright stiles 12 and horizontal rails 14, and an inner panel such as aninsect screen 16. The screen can of course be replaced with translucentor transparent glass, opaque wood or metal panels or the like. The dooris movable to the left and right, as viewed in FIG. 1, along tracks 18mounted to floor 20 and ceiling 22 as guided by a plurality of rollers24 carried by the door. Various manners for securing screen 16 to doorframe 10 can be employed. For reasons more fully explained hereinafter,it is presently preferred to provide along the inner edge of the railsand stiles of the frame a channel 26 into which the peripheral edges ofthe screens are pressed and secured.

The stiles and rails 12 and 14, respectively, are conventionallyconstructed of light weight, thin-walled aluminum or the like extrusionswhich form channels 26 on one side of the main body of the extrusionsand which further define interior spaces 25 which extend over the lengthof the extrusions.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, each corner between adjacent stiles 12and rails 14 is defined by an Lshaped corner connector 28 that has apair of perpendicular legs 30, 32, which terminate in extensions 34. Theextensions are sized to fit snugly into interior spaces 25 of the stileand rail extrusions so that when pressed into such spaces a securefrictional connection between the extrusions and the extensions isobtained. To facilitate the ease with which the extensions are insertedinto the interior spaces, the extensions are preferably slightly taperedso that their cross-sectional dimensions increase from adjacent theirfree ends 36 towards the remainder of the connector.

Extensions 34 terminate at an abutment edge 38 which is perpendicular tothe length of legs 30, 32, respectively, and which forms the ends of acentral portion 40 of the corner connector. The central portion has anouter shape and is dimensioned to be identical with the exteriorcross-sectional shape and dimension of the stile and rail extrusions sothat upon abutment between abutment edges 38 of a connector 28 and astraight end 42 of the stile or rail extrusion a substantiallycontinuous outer surface of door frame is obtained.

Thus, a complete door frame is constructed by providing pairs of stilesl2 and rails 14 and connecting adjacent stiles and rails with fourcorner connectors 28 in the above described manner. Mechanical fastenerssuch as rivets or threaded bolts can be inserted between thefrictionally engaged extensions 34 and the stiles and rails topositively prevent any disengagement between them. Corner connectors 28also are provided with means defining channels 44 aligned and continuouswith channels 26 in the stiles and rails to provide for a continuousreceiving and securing of the periphery of screen 16. In this manner,screen 16 further acts as a fastener between the corner connectors andthe stiles and rails so that the above mentioned mechanical fastenersare ordinarily not required. A minimum of assembly and installation timeis thus required to produce a screen door 8 which can, therefore, bemanufactured at substantially lower cost than was heretofore possible.

Although corner connector 28 can be constructed in various manners, itis presently preferred that it be constructed in two substantiallyidentical but opposite halves 46, 48, which may be injection molded orconstructed according to some other low cost manufacturing method. Thehalves are aligned with dowel pins or the like fitting into bores ofbosses and they are secured to each other with rivets, bolts or byproviding snap fasteners, friction fasteners or the like.

A side wall 52 of each connector aligned with rail 14 of the door frameterminates short of abutment edge 38 and defines a cutout 54 ofsufficient length to enable a guide roller 24 to protrude therethrough.The roller is mounted to a bracket 56 disposed in a hollow interiorspace 58 of connector 28 and pivotable about a pivot pin 60 anchored inconnector halves 46 and 48. An arcuate leaf spring 62 is conventionallysecured to one end of bracket 56 and has a free end 64 that is slidablealong the bracket. An intermediate section of the leaf spring engagesthe interior of a connector side wall 66 opposite side wall 52 andbiases the brackets and the guide roller in a clockwise direction, asviewed in FIG. 2, outwardly through cutout 54 and against guide track18.

To prevent the door weight from fully compressing leaf spring 62 so thatguide rollers 24 mounted in the lower corner connectors of the screendoor are retracted into interior connector space 58 and cease to providea guiding function, a set screw 68 is provided to limit thecounterclockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 2) of roller 24 andbracket 56 under the door weight. The set screw is threaded through anut 70 frictionally secured between connector halves 46, 48 as byinserting the nut in opposing, generally rectangularly shaped, inwardlyfacing openings 72 defined by rectangular bosses 74 on halves 46 and 48.Upright side wall 76 of connector 28 includes an opening 78 to enableadjustment of set screw 68 from the exterior of the connector. Thus, thespacing of the upper and lower guide rollers can be adjusted to providefor a precise fit of the screen door between the opposing upper andlower tracks 18.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the present invention also providesmeans for installing handles, door locks and the like at an intermediateposition of one of the stiles 12 or rails 14 such as the combinationdoor handle-lock 80 illustrated in FIG. 1 between an upper section 82and a lower section 84 of the left-hand stile. The handle-lock isincorporated in a straight connector 86 which comprises acentral portion88 housing the locking mechanism and mounting a suitably shaped handle90 for grasping the door and sliding it along tracks 18. The straightconnector preferably comprises a main body 96 that defines extensions 92and has a cover 98 for placement over the locking mechanism or it isconstructed of two substantially identical, left and right hand halves(not illustrated) as previously discussed. Extensions 92 are aligned andextend away from central portion 88 in opposite directions from anabutment edge 94. The extensions have the same cross sectional shape anddimensions as inner space 25 of the stile extrusions, are alsopreferably slightly tapered in a longitudinal direction to facilitatetheir insertion in the interior spaces and, upon firm insertion in theextrusions, they form a secure frictional connection of the upper andlower stile sections 82 and 84. Mechanical fasteners can again beemployed where desired and/or necessary.

Referring to FIG. 6, a recessed straight connector 96 has a centralportion 98 of a thickness no greater or less than the thickness ofadjacent stile sections 82 and 84. The central portion includes griprecesses for grasping the handle and moving the door. If desired, thecentral portion can also include latch or locking mechanisms (notshown). Extensions 92 depend axially from abutment edges 99 of thecenter portion, extend into stile sections 82, 84 in the above describedmanner and thus firmly retains the connector to the stile sections. Theabutment edges limit insertion of the extensions into the stilesections.

Straight line connector 96 illustrated in FIG. 6 is narrow and isideally suited for applications in which two doors slide with little orno clearance past each other. A protruding connector would interferewith the free slidable door movement.

It will now be apparent that the present invention provides corner andinline fasteners for hollow protrusions to form door frames and installsuch components as roller assemblies, door locks, door handles and thelike without the need for machining the extrusions to install suchcomponents. This substantially reduces the required work to produce adoor assembly. Moreover, all extrusions, whether connected at rightangles or inline, terminate in straight cuts which abut with a centralportion of the connector that is shaped and dimensioned to provide asubstantially continuous outer door frame surface. This eliminatesexpensive mitering operations and provides the door assembly with apleasing appearance.

lclaim:

1. An assembly for a screen door and the like comprising an outer framedefined by perpendicular tubu and dimensioned to snugly, frictionallyengage an interior of the contiguous stile and rail to thereby secureand position the stile, the rail and the connector to each other, eachextension including .a free end having at least two sets of opposingtapered sides terminating in an extension end which has a reduced crosssection as compared to a remainder of the extensions to facilitate theinsertion of the remainders into the adjoining stile and rail, theportion of at least two aligned connectors only including a cutout, thecutouts being aligned, each such cutout being further spaced from theadjoining stile and rail so as to not interrupt the continuity of thestiles and the rails, a roller assembly, means mounting the rollerassembly to the connector and positioning the assembly in an interiorspace defined by the connector only and being spaced from the adjoiningstile and rail, means biasing at least part of the roller through thecutout to the exterior of the connector for guiding the frame duringmovements along a track, the

stiles, the rails and the connectors further defining a

1. An assembly for a screen door and the like comprising an outer framedefined by perpendicular tubular stiles and tubular rails, the stilesand rails having a lesser overall length than the overall dimensions ofthe door, and a connector between each set of adjacent stiles and rails,each connector having a portion disposed between and in abutment withends of an adjacent stile and rail, the portion having an exteriorconfiguration substantially identical to the exterior configuration ofthe adjacent stile and rail to form a continuous outer door framedefined by the stiles, the rails and the connectors, each connectorincluding reduced cross section extensions depending from the portionand dimensioned to snugly, frictionally engage an interior of thecontiguous stile and rail to thereby secure and position the stile, therail and the connector to each other, each extension including a freeend having at least two sets of opposing tapered sides terminating in anextension end which has a redUced cross section as compared to aremainder of the extensions to facilitate the insertion of theremainders into the adjoining stile and rail, the portion of at leasttwo aligned connectors only including a cutout, the cutouts beingaligned, each such cutout being further spaced from the adjoining stileand rail so as to not interrupt the continuity of the stiles and therails, a roller assembly, means mounting the roller assembly to theconnector and positioning the assembly in an interior space defined bythe connector only and being spaced from the adjoining stile and rail,means biasing at least part of the roller through the cutout to theexterior of the connector for guiding the frame during movements along atrack, the stiles, the rails and the connectors further defining asmooth, continuous, generally U-shaped open channel running along aninner edge of the frame, flexible screen means disposed over an areaincluded by the frame, and means securing edges of the screen means intothe continuous channel to thereby mount the screen means andmechanically lock the screen means to the stiles, the rails, and thecorner fasteners.